This invention relates to a female metal terminal.
One female metal terminal is disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication 58-87789. As shown in FIG. 1, this metal terminal comprises a terminal body 1 having a fitting portion 3 of a square tubular shape extending from a barrel portion 2 for compressively holding a wire (not shown), and a spring piece 4 which is separate from the terminal body 1, and is mounted on the fitting portion 3. A tab 5 of a male metal terminal advances along a lower surface (inner surface) of an upper wall 3A of the fitting portion 3, and is resiliently urged upwardly by the spring piece 4, so that the tab 5 is held in surface-to-surface contact with the upper wall 3A with a predetermined contact pressure.
In the above conventional female metal terminal, the spring piece 4 has a wavy or curved shape, and spaces are formed beneath the tab 5 at the front and rear sides of a peak portion 4A of the spring piece 4 held in contact with the tab 5 (see FIG. 2).
Therefore, when an external force acts on the tab 5 in an upward or a downward direction, the tab 5 is tilted about the peak portion 4A in a seesaw-like manner, so that there is a possibility that the condition of contact between the tab 5 and the upper wall 3A becomes unstable.